MEDICAL INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS

UDDEHOLM

High performance steels

By applying our experience and expertise of raw material and metallurgy to innovative technology, we are forcing new challenges in the industry to adjust to our ever-present and indispensable rule: choose the right material for the job.

It is a simple way of developing advanced tool steeland delivering solutions that make a difference for ourcustomers. Quality and global traceability is key.

Some say we are leaders, and that makes us proud.Because when it comes to tool steel, we aim to be the one leading the way. And we do so by always delivering more than tool steel.

We add value and we enhance competitiveness. That iswhat makes Uddeholm the world’s leading provider of tool steel solutions. And it will be for the next 350 years too. Shaping the world for generations to come.

THE PERFECT PARTNERSHAPING THE WORLD

Uddeholm is the world’s leading provider of tool steel, with business and operations in over 90countries. Since the beginning, our promise and foundational business idea is to deliver a tool anddie solution that enhances competitiveness and creates added value for our customers.

Medical forgings are typically formed from material grades such as Cobalt-Chrome, Stainless Steels and Titanium alloys due to the benefits they offer.

Beneficial though these properties may be in offering medical implants and other components they can present issues in production.

Forging dies often measure tool outputs in double digit figures before re-cutting.

Uddeholm high performance tool steels can increase tool life in these high demand applications and solve serious failure issues such as gross cracking by offering superior toughness.

HOT WORKHIGH DEMAND APPLICATIONS

QUALITATIVE COMPARISON OF RESISTANCE OF BASIC PROPERTIES

The longer the bar, the better.

UDDEHOLMTOOL STEEL HOT WEAR

PLASTICDEFORMATION

PREMATURECRACKING

HEATCHECKING

Dievar

Unimax

Orvar 2 Microdized

Orvar Supreme

Vidar Superior

QRO 90 Supreme

Formvar

Polymer technology has advanced to a stage where conventional tool steels struggle to cope with increased demands placed on the tooling by advanced polymers. Increased wear and high temperature injection and curing can lead to a reduction in tool life. Corrosive gasses produced as a byproduct of production can also seriously damage the tool steel leading to premature failure.

A common challenge in high volume plastic production is getting the best part quality out from the tool.

Thermal hot spots can present a serious issue for high volume production, slowing down parts produced and causing distortion. When cycle times are measured every second counts.

Uddeholm’s mould steel programme has the answers to these demands. Whether its higher abrasive wear resistance, increased toughness, better resistance to corrosion or conformally cooled inserts using additive manufacturing, uddeholm is here to offer a technicalsolution.

PROPERTY

Cor

rax

Sta

vax

ES

R

Mirr

ax E

SR

Tyra

x E

SR

Elm

ax

Sup

erC

lean

Vana

x S

uper

Cle

an

Normal hardness HRC (HB) 46 52 52 57 58 60

Wear resistance 3 5 5 6 8 7

Toughness 4 5 6 6 3 4

Compressive strength 6 7 7 8 9 9

Corrosion resistance 9 7 8 7 5 10

Machinability** 4 8 7 7 3 4

Polishability 7 9 9 10 8 8

Weldability 6 4 4 4 2 -

Nitriding ability - - - - - -

Etchability 8* 8* 8* 8* 8* 8*

PLASTICSTEEL SOLUTIONS FOR PLASTIC PRODUCTION

* Special process required for corrosion resistant steel grades

PROPERTY

Cor

rax

Sta

vax

ES

R

Mirr

ax E

SR

Tyra

x E

SR

Elm

ax

Sup

erC

lean

Vana

x S

uper

Cle

an

Normal hardness HRC (HB) 46 52 52 57 58 60

Wear resistance 3 5 5 6 8 7

Toughness 4 5 6 6 3 4

Compressive strength 6 7 7 8 9 9

Corrosion resistance 9 7 8 7 5 10

Machinability** 4 8 7 7 3 4

Polishability 7 9 9 10 8 8

Weldability 6 4 4 4 2 -

Nitriding ability - - - - - -

Etchability 8* 8* 8* 8* 8* 8*

The automation of process within the medical sector can present a multitude of challenges.

Productivity is key in high volume production. Reliable steel selection can ensure downtime; maintenance and related costs are kept to a minimum.

Guide rails, location pins and loading components can often be overlooked as sacrificial elements, this doesn’t need to be the case.

Speak to your Uddeholm technical expert about your process and they will assess any potential improvements in steel selection. We see a plethora of wide ranging and ingenious solutions every day and can help improve your process, reducing downtime and saving you money.

Improved machinability, increased stability in heat treatment and providing a good substrate for coatings can all offer reduced total tooling costs and improved productivity.

RELATIVE COMPARISON OF THE RESISTANCE TO FAILURE MECHANISMS

The longer the bar, the better the resistance. The Vancron and Vanadis steels mentioned in the table are Uddeholm PM SuperClean tool steels.

AUTOMATIONFOR EFFICIENT PRODUCTION

Uddeholm Grade

Hardness/Resistanceto plastic

deformation

Resistance to Fatigue cracking resistance

Machina-bility

Grindability DimensionStability

Abrasivewear

Adhesivewear

Ductility/resistanceto chipping

Toughness/gross

cracking

Arne

Calmax

Caldie (ESR)

Rigor

Sleipner

Sverker 21

Sverker 3

Vanadis 4 Extra

Vanadis 8

Vanadis 23

Vancron

High volume production requires consistency and reliability. Minutes of downtime can result in major cost implications to production lines.

When the stakes are so high Powder Metallurgy grades are the best option. Our 3rd generation SuperClean PM steels offer superior resistance to wear, chipping and plastic deformation compared to conventional standard grades used in this application such as D2 and A2.

At Uddeholm, we pride ourselves on the quality of our steel and the subsequent benefits this offers to our customers. Responding to evolving market demand through close contact with our customer base, we are developing new steel grades and fine-tuning existing grades to provide solutions, which can deliver optimum results.

Increasing tool life, decreasing maintenance periods and removing post processing such as coatings can deliver significant savings to our customers.

PROPERTY COMPARISON

Uddeholm Caldie

Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean

Uddeholm Sleipner

Uddeholm Vanax SuperClean

Uddeholm Vanadis 8 SuperClean

Uddeholm Vanadis 4 Extra SuperClean

Wear resistance Toughness

PILL MANUFACTUREPRECISION AND RELIABILITY

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURINGMADE FOR TOOLING

Additive Manufacturing (AM), popularly known as 3D metal printing, is one of the most innovative and revolutionary manufacturing methods we see today.

Sometimes the design of a component cannot change to facilitate tool design issues. The intricate nature of many medical components can lead to issues with hot spots in tools which cannot be easily dealt with.

Additive manufacture opens up a world of possibilities which were previously not possible using conventional methods.

High thermal coefficient materials can often be banned for medical use. Corrax AM is our solution, offering medical grade stainless steel which can be hardened to 51HRC, ensuring the highest possible wear resistance.

Uddeholm Corrax AM grain sphericity

uddeholm.com

Manufacturing solutions for generations to come

SHAPING THE WORLDSince 1668 we have been providing a wide range of innovative cutting-edge

solutions for our customers in demanding segments. Our dedicated employees work

in almost ninety countries and together we deliver improved competitiveness to

clients worldwide. Welcome to Uddeholm.